Linguae Europaeae

by Lilia Motley Lilia Motley is a senior in Computer Science at the University of Illinois.  Lilia's future plans include taking a job at Microsoft in Seattle.  Lilia wrote this blog post in the 418 "Language and Minorities in Europe" course in Spring 2019. Image Credit: Arnold Platon, via Wikimedia Commons . License available here . Out of all the minority languages in Europe, few are in a situation as unique and contradictory as Romani's: the language boasts an estimated 3.5 million speakers--possibly making it the largest minorized language in the European Union--yet it is only recognized as an official language in one region [i].  It is ratified under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in 16 states--more than any other language--yet its promotion by these countries is often lackluster compared to others.  Romani speakers live in almost every country in Europe, and yet nowhere do they make up more than 10% of the population [ii]....

by Johanna Kruisbrink Johanna Kruisbrink is a sophomore in Political Science and French at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is planning on spending the next academic year studying in Paris, France, and is interested in international relations as her future career. She wrote this text as a student enrolled in 418 ‘Language and Minorities in Europe’ in the spring of 2015. Like all Dutch, the Frisians adore ice-skating. These skaters are participating in the Elfstedentochtin 1963, an ice-skating race that only occurs when the canals between 11 Frisian cities freeze. [ Image Source ] On September 18, 2014 the Scottish referendum captivated the world with the drama and intrigue inherent to battles for independence. The drama was only heightened by the widely held view that other minorities of Europe were watching intensely to learn and prepare. The interest Catalonia has expressed in the Scottish independence for their own ambitions of sovereignty is well known, b...

by Barbara L.W. Myers Barbara Myers is a graduate student in European Union Studies at the University of Illinois. She is planning on continuing her studies of Dutch, Swedish, literary translation, and the EU. She is interested in the work of immigrant writers in Benelux and Scandinavia. She wrote this text as a student in 418 ‘Language and Minorities in Europe.’ Image Source It would have been easy to conduct the conversation in English—the customer service representative at the ticket desk for the Rijksmuseum was certainly accustomed to dealing with tourists in the lingua franca (ELF). I had heard him speak it clearly with the couple in front of me in line and I had heard it all around Amsterdam in restaurants, on trams, and along the pathways at the Keukenhof. But by beginning the conversation in Dutch, I set the tone for a Nederlands exchange. The guidebooks I read before my first trip to Amsterdam four years ago (Frommer’s) and my return trip this March (Rick Steves and ...